Procession planned in Worcester for tow truck driver

Friday

May 9, 2014 at 9:50 PMMay 9, 2014 at 11:51 PM

By Winston W. Wiley TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — A procession of tow trucks is expected to descend on the city Saturday in honor of John W. Duggan Sr., a tow truck driver killed last weekend along with a Florida state trooper after responding to a two-car accident on Interstate 75 in Ocala, Florida.

Mr. Duggan, 57, a Worcester native and Worcester Boys Trade School graduate, was the owner and operator of S.M. Duggan Towing Co. in Ocala.

Mr. Duggan had responded to an accident just before 2 p.m. last Saturday in a southbound lane of I-75 when he, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and a third person were struck as they stood in the median of the highway, according to Florida Highway Patrol. Both Mr. Duggan and the 30-year-old trooper, Chelsea Richard, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The third victim, George R. Phillips of Ocala, died hours later at Ocala Regional Medical Center, the highway patrol said in a news release.

They said the second crash that claimed the three lives resulted from a multi-vehicle accident that occurred when the driver of a sport utility vehicle abruptly braked to avoid colliding with vehicles that were already stopped because of the first accident. The SUV was then sideswiped by a pickup that ran onto the median, striking the cruiser and three people standing there, according to The Associated Press.

Charges are pending the completion of the traffic homicide investigation, which could take several months, the highway patrol said.

Tow truck operators from across the state are expected to attend Mr. Duggan's funeral and plan to drive their vehicles in a procession from Alfred Roy & Sons Funeral Home, 12 Hammond St., to an 11 a.m. Mass at Blessed Sacrament Church, 555 Pleasant St. From the church, the procession will go to Worcester County Memorial Park in Paxton, where Mr. Duggan will be interred.

The procession of tow trucks is intended as a show of respect for a fellow tow truck operator killed while performing his duties, according to one organizer of the event.

Mr. Duggan owned and operated the 3D Garden Center on Chandler Street before moving to Florida 10 years ago.